Up next in the cavalcade of 1971 starting All-Stars given their due in the 1972 set with "missing" All-Star cards is Hall of Famer Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the third outfielder for the National League joining,up with Mays and Aaron:
Though
already a three-time All-Star by the time 1971 rolled around, Stargell
really had his breakout season in 1971, eventually leading the N.L. with
48 homers while also driving in a career-best 125 runs, scoring 104
himself.
Those monster numbers would get him a second place finish in the MVP race, something he'd also do two years later.
He'd
have to wait until 1979 when at the age of 39 he'd finally get his MVP
Award, leading the Pirates to their World Series win over the Baltimore
Orioles with their "We are family" team, with "Pops" taking the team on
his shoulders.
Luckily, I got to see him towards the end of his career in the late-70's/early-80s before he retired after the 1982 season.
His
final number? Hall of Fame worthy as he'd finish with 475 home runs,
1540 RBIs, a surprisingly high .282 batting average and 2232 hits over
2360 games and 7927 at-bats.
Think about those numbers in UNDER 8000 at-bats!
Of course when eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in, with 82.4% of the vote in 1988.
So sad that he would pass away at only 61 years of age in 2001.
